Trump Spox Accidentally Confirms Payroll Tax Cut Was Discussed Seconds After Claiming It’s Not Under Consideration

Seconds after White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley repeated the Trump administration’s denial that it is considering a payroll tax cut to stave off a recession, he accidentally admitted that he was present at a recent meeting where that exact thing was discussed.

President Donald Trump‘s administration has spent a week trying to tamp down on fears of a recession, including by pushing back on reports that a payroll tax cut — which would seem to be an admission of weakness in the economy — is under consideration.

A White House official told CNN on Monday that “more tax cuts for the American people are certainly on the table, but cutting payroll taxes is not something under consideration at this time,” a line which Gidley repeated on Fox News Tuesday morning.

America’s Newsroom co-anchor Sandra Smith asked Gidley “These latest reports that are emerging, that there is a temporary payroll tax being considered by the White House, obviously the White House hasn’t confirmed that, can you confirm anything on that front?”

Gidley launched into a version of that Trump official’s canned statement, telling Smith “Look, what I can tell you is the same thing Larry kudlow said, and the same thing that the president of the United States has said, that he’s looking at tax cuts again, we think that spurs on this economic expansion…”

“Is a payroll tax cut being considered?” Smith asked.

“It’s not being considered at this time, but he’s looking at all options out there to try and give people back so much of the hard-earned money they’ve made,” Gidley replied.

A few seconds later in the interview, Smith pressed Gidley again, noting that “if there were to be a temporary payroll tax being considered, one might draw the conclusion that there is a need to stimulate the economy, an economy that obviously the White House and the president tout is still on very strong ground.”

Gidley noted that Smith misspoke by saying “Well first of all, it was a payroll tax cut, not a payroll tax, because we are always looking to give people back their hard-earned money, and that’s what the conversation was about.”

“I was in the meeting yesterday, we talked about all types of options,” Gidley continued. “But the fact is this president has taken this economy to new heights we never thought possible, and so many detractors on the left said couldn’t ever happen.”

Watch the clip above, via Fox News.